Glitch

Julie sat in her room, looking at the box that held her very own Byte model. Byte models were robot dogs manufactured by the company Megabyte Inc. They were supposed to be like real dogs, except much more obedient and easier to care for.

Slowly, Julie opened the box. Carefully, she lifter the robot out of the packaging.

After she clicked the power button, Byte’s eyes opened, and it stared at her for the first time. In the manual, Julie had read that the dog would sit quietly until the owner stated its name.

Suddenly, the robot dog leapt out of her hands and onto the floor, where it shook its head a few times and then ran away behind the couch.

Shocked, Julie called out and raced after it. Maybe it’s hungry, she thought. She took out one of the tiny metal chips from a package in the box. It was Byte’s “food.” She waved it at the robot, but it only jumped onto the couch before snatching the treat right out of her hand.

Byte sat in a corner, munching on his treat.

“Maybe he’s just anxious right now,” she murmured to herself. “Come on, Byte, let’s go for a walk!” She fastened the leash around his collar and led him out the door.

But Julie barely had enough time to breathe before he darted out of her reach and started bounding in circles on the sidewalk.

“There must be a glitch, or something!” she complained to herself, sighing.

At the word “glitch,” Byte looked up and ran toward her.

She stared at him slowly. “Glitch?” she said hesitantly.

Byte barked, spinning in a circle.

“Is that your name? You’re not supposed to do that. I’m supposed to decide your name, right? What about ‘Sparky”?”

Byte stayed silent.

“Glitch?”

He looked up at her excitedly.

“Okay .. . Glitch. Do you want to go play?” she asked.

He yipped happily and ran off, turning to look back at her. Glitch wasn’t like the other Byte models, but . . . maybe that wasn’t a bad thing  after all.